Actually I agree with the premise of the original post… Don’t give non-citizens healthcare!.. If you see it is breaking the U.K. then why should we. Who says we have to. Lock up the border (how hard is this really??), get the illegals already here to register and pay taxes, or kick em out!.. If they are registered and paying taxes then they should be able to have access to healthcare. If not, KICK EM OUT!… Hell I don’t even think tourists should be allowed to have access either. And there all kinds of other reasons you could deny healthcare… Not paying your child support? No healthcare for you either!… This is what I mean about we don’t have to do what other countries do.

… please point to me a city/state operated hospital (since we are talking about taking care of poor folks) were folks regardless of economic status are banging down its doors to get medical attention.

Come to Chicago Bro… There’s been a lot of talk about Cook County charging other Suburban counties for citizens outside of Cook county coming into the county to get free healthcare at cook county hospitals. Other hospitals are even sending poor patients to Cook county hospital after they are stabilized. So many people are coming that it is over loading the hospital and causing them to consistently overrun their budget. This hospital provides “world-renowned” services. Here are two articles that tell you all about it:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-1106ledeletternov06,1,86593.story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Stroger,_Jr._Hospital_of_Cook_County

Again, Medicaid or Medicare.

You are leaving out a LARGE group of people here (around 46 million). These are the people who make too much money for medicaid/medicare but can not afford private healthcare OR are not allowed to get private healthcare because of preexisting conditions.

We had to take our little girl to the emergency room because she got a gash on her forehead. We showed them our card and the bill was covered.

No way… That is impossible!!.. You are really pressing your luck to think that government has the ability to give your child the top-notch care she needs.

Last I checked, what separates human beings here in the US to most of the world is language and water. Other than that, health care is one of many issues that are common regardless. The only other option to what we have presently in this country is socialized care (or some form of it). The U,K. wanted to prove to the world that it was capable of providing “free” healthcare and other benefits to many of its non-citizens and have now come to the conclusion that it is literally sucking the life out of its health care system–a system that was designed to take care of its citizens first. Despite what ill feelings you may have for our current medical system, America is still a primary location for both medical training and service worldwide. “Poor” folks are not as out of the loop for health coverage as you are making them out to be. The problem here is not access but an improvement in quality. Quite frankly, government has always been behind the ball in keeping up with technology.

Again, I point you to the article/post I linked to earlier. Ask those folks will expansion help them.

People with no insurance is forcing prices up which in turn forces premiums, deductibles, and copays up for everyone.

It is a combination of illegals using our services, poor Americans who for various reasons will not use medicare/medicaid (read this post http://blackinformant.com/2007/11/01/lets-break-this-joint/) poor mismanagement of city hospitals, etc. . While the Democratic solution sounds good on paper, please point to me a city/state operated hospital (since we are talking about taking care of poor folks) were folks regardless of economic status are banging down its doors to get medical attention. And you want to multiply this?

If you can afford insurance…If not it is called the emergency room for small issues

Again, Medicaid or Medicare. My wife, kids and myself were on it a few years ago. We signed up for it and had it on the spot. We had to take our little girl to the emergency room because she got a gash on her forehead. We showed them our card and the bill was covered.

We don’t have to implement every aspect of any plan some other country uses… We are a completely different country with different people and different laws.. Take what works from around the world and come up with something better that fits us. If they have money to go elsewhere then more power to them… I bet if you asked the average person in UK would they take our system I’m betting that 99% would say NO.. Probably 80% would say HELL NO!…

What is true is that SOME of my taxes do go towards paying for things like Medicaid/Medicare. However, I still have control over the bulk of my income–that includes what I choose to pay for medical coverage.

Yes but the amount EVERYONE pays for medical coverage is higher because of the current system. Isn’t that one of the main arguments many conservatives are making against illegal immigration.. It is forcing EVERYONE to have to pay more at hospitals because they use emergency rooms and can’t pay. This is what I mean by we are all paying regardless… People with no insurance is forcing prices up which in turn forces premiums, deductibles, and copays up for everyone. You have NO control over this. Even the cheapest plan is higher than it would be without this problem.

We are. It’s called a deductible.

If you can afford insurance… If not it is called the emergency room for small issues and bankruptcy for large ones.

We all know we are paying regardless.

Not exactly true.

What is true is that SOME of my taxes do go towards paying for things like Medicaid/Medicare. However, I still have control over the bulk of my income–that includes what I choose to pay for medical coverage.

The frustration you feel regarding the insane costs for your child is definitely understandable and I agree that in cases like that there should be some additional allotment. But you are really pressing your luck to think that government has the ability to give your child the top-notch care he needs for his condition. I am all for exceptions for cases like yours but I flatly refuse to lift the same curtain for millions of illegals who are competing for the same “free” medical benefits that will undoubtedly have a negative affect such resources. As far as I know, NOT ONE OF THE CANDIDATES (Huckabee?) HAS TAKEN A FIRM STANCE AGAINST PLUGGING THIS HOLE.

Why not pay the smaller amount up front instead of the HUGE amount we are currently paying.

We are. It’s called a deductible.

Sure. Especially kids if you want your citizens to grow up to be as healthy and productive as possible to keep your economy moving. As for adults… We all know we are paying regardless. It is just disguised as extremely high medical costs and extremely high insurance premiums for everybody instead of taxes… Why not pay the smaller amount up front instead of the HUGE amount we are currently paying.

Chris G.

http://blog.rockforhunger.org